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I'm from rural Nebraska, from a part of the state that is about as flat as this section of North Dakota appears to be. Now that I live in New York, I've spent years hearing (in response to discovering where I'm from) complaints about wretchedly "boring" car trips through the Great Plains from those accustomed to hills, trees, and buildings. I've always asserted that the Great Plains has a very stark beauty, and that you just have to look up to appreciate it. There is something very beautiful about feeling so dwarfed by the sky and being able to see an entire celestial drama played out on as much canvas as is earthly possible.

It looks more like a rural school house than a church. No steeple is visible in the original photo. The tall object which appears to be somewhat behind the white building is more than likely a possible windmill, other than part of the structure itself. Plus, by 1940, there certainly would have been many more houses near the church. The larger building farther back looks to be a barn with the top of the silo shining. A bit to the left appears to be a farmhouse and outbuildings. The photo was taken in McHenry county, but I don't think it shows the town of Towner.

My father was born In North Dakota in the early 1930s. This wonderful picture reminds me of something he told me when I was a child. He would say jokingly that the state tree of North Dakota was the telephone pole.

This photo is another example of why John Vachon is the greatest photographer of the American landscape and streetscape, and of our country's vernacular architecture. He is an amazingly under-appreciated artist.

McHenry county isn't flat. Not compared to some other parts of the state. The Red River Valley is flat, this bit of land has a hint of undulation to it. You have to really look to see it, but it is there.

Having been raised in the rolling hills and valleys of Connecticut where one was almost always either going uphill or downhill, moving out west came as quite a change of scenery. There is a spot less than a mile from my current home in Oklahoma where every direction in which one looks is tabletop flat and hill-less as far as the eye can see. You can see the weather coming that is still an hour or more away. Tornado chasers revel in observing the sky, taking twister photographs and seeing actual coming weather events in advance. This picture looks very much like the spot mentioned. Can't say I'm crazy about it but I just bloom where I'm planted and make the best of it and so far I've been lucky. Gets a little scary though during snow blizzards and crippling ice storms when the power goes out for ten days.

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.